System for processing cartridges

ABSTRACT

A filling system for filling cartridges with a variety of outer diameters includes a conveyor having cleats extending at spaced intervals. A shifting mechanism is coupled to the conveyor for shifting the conveyor between a first position and a second position. The distance between the first and second positions is a function of the outer diameter of the cartridge to be filled.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a non-provisional filing claiming priority under 35U.S.C. 119 from provisional application Ser. No. 60/876,655, filed Dec.22, 2006, the entirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates generally to automated systems used in thepackaging of silicones, sealants, adhesives and the like intocartridges, having applications in a variety of industries including,but not limited to, the building, medical and automotive sector.

Within industry, cartridges have been designed to package and house asingle material formulation, and are generally described as tubular withone open end and one closed end that incorporates a nozzle or nozzleattachment feature for later dispensing. A material formulation isdisposed of into the interior of the cartridge followed by a plungerassembly, which seals the container with the dual purpose of containingthe material and providing a piston to extrude the material out thenozzle on the closed end of the cartridge. Technological advancementshave produced solutions to applications that require two materialformulations to be housed within a single cartridge having amultiplicity of segregated cavities, while maintaining the formulationsin isolation from each other until the point of use.

Cartridges come in a variety of sizes that vary in both diameter andlength and are typically defined by their capacity to hold a maximumvolume of material. For a sector of industry, cartridges are typicallybroken up into two families of products identified as quarts or pints,each of which are identified by a range of diametrical dimensions (innerand outer) and a range of lengths. In addition to dimensionaldifferences, cartridges can vary in material construction and aretypically grouped into those manufactured of plastic, fiber (pressedpaper), or metal (aluminum). Depending on the cartridge materialconstruction, an appropriate plunger design is selected to seal off thecartridge open end. The type of material contained within the cartridge,the eventual product application as well as marketing considerations candictate the size of the cartridge (pint or quart), the materialconstruction of the cartridge (plastic, fiber or aluminum), and theplunger to be used (plastic or aluminum).

Manufacturers of sealants, adhesives and the like, as well asre-packagers of the same, require automation to facilitate in themanufacturing of cartridges, which may include dispensing and filling,application of traceability data, sealing and packaging. In thedevelopment of automated systems, considerations are given to thephysical size and shape of the cartridge being processed, the physicaland chemical properties of the material formulation being dispensed, theenvironmental conditions (including available power requirements), andother factors that may affect machine performance. In a typicalapplication a dispensing nozzle is initially placed within the innerdiameter, and at the bottom of, the cartridge. Material is then pumpedthrough the inner diameter of the dispensing nozzle and into theinterior of the cartridge. As material is deposited into the closed endof the cartridge, the relative position between the dispensing nozzleand cartridge is increased, resulting in the region between thecartridge and dispensing nozzle being displaced with material dispensedfrom the dispensing nozzle. Subsequent to this operation the cartridgeis indexed to a station whereby a plunger is inserted into the open endof the cartridge and bottomed out against the material surface.Ordinarily, a mechanical feature is incorporated into the plungerinsertion station, enabling the atmospheric venting of the gas trappedbetween the plunger and material during processing, although plungerdesigns are offered that obsolete this need. The cartridge is furtherprocessed for optional processing steps such as seaming of the plunger,dispensing of desiccant packs, application of lot numbers, and the like.

Optionally, cartridges can be supplied with plungers pre-inserted andbottomed out against the closed end of the cartridge. In this fashionfilling of the cartridges is performed from the closed end of thecartridge, and as material enters the cartridge body, the pre-insertedplunger is displaced and moved out toward the direction of the open endof the cartridge. This approach has its limitations, as it requires thatthe closed end be resealed after filling, and the cartridge constructionand design allow for the plunger to move in both directions.

Various systems and methods have been designed to meet the range ofmarket needs for automation, with a family of solutions focusing on highviscosity materials, while another focus has been low viscositymaterials (a.k.a. self-leveling materials). The high yield stress ofthixotropic formulations, allows for development of dispensingautomation on a horizontal platform given their resistance to spillageover time intervals associated with indexing cartridges between thepoint of dispense/fill and plunger insertion. Although appropriate forhigh viscosity formulations, horizontal filling and processing isinappropriate for self-leveling formulations given their tendency topour out of the cartridge when tilted beyond a critical angle.Self-leveling formulations have given rise to the development ofvertical filling systems, aptly suited for such materials but as anadded benefit can also process high viscosity formulations.

Manufacturing platforms developed to process self-leveling formulationshave gravitated towards rotary dial indexing mechanisms equipped withhard tooling (a.k.a. nests) mounted to the rotating dial plate toposition the cartridge within the indexing mechanism. The nests aredesigned to accommodate the physical cartridge dimensions such as outerdiameter and overall length, material out of which the cartridge isconstructed, and the presence or absence of any cartridge nozzlefeatures. The nests are disposed peripherally around the circumferenceof the rotary dial plate, and are positioned such that, when the rotarydial plate is indexed through the various stations, the longitudinalaxis of each nest is coincident to that of each and every station. Thetooling (i.e. nests) is necessary to maintain and assure properalignment of the cartridge relative to each station through which thecartridge has to be processed. However, the cartridges may be one of arange of lengths and diameters, depending on their intended use. Nestsare built to accommodate a specific tube size. In an effort toaccommodate a certain level of flexibility towards tolerating a range ofcartridges diametrical and length differences, nests are madeinterchangeable and can be exchanged with ones designed to the specificphysical characteristics of each cartridge desired to be processed onone system. This level of flexibility, however, is associated with hightooling fabrication costs and inefficient changeover efficiencies, asnests must be replaced each time a tube of differing diameter or lengthis to be filled resulting in reduced machine uptime.

Accordingly, a cartridge filling assembly which overcomes theshortcomings of the prior art is desired.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to an automated system for processing a range ofcartridges having a range of different lengths and diameters without theneed for removing, or adding dedicated tooling. The premise of thesystem is to obsolete the need to require absolute alignment of thecartridge as the cartridge is being transported/indexed and to onlyimpose the necessary alignment at each processing point (i.e. eachstation) in a manner that does not require retooling.

A cleated indexing conveyor, powered by a motor, is positioned on itsside, such that the cleated indexing conveyor belt surface is at a rightangle to the machine surface. The cleats are spaced at predeterminedspacings along the length of the conveyor such that the largestcartridge in outer diameter loosely fits between a pair of consecutivecleats. A pair of supporting rails is positioned alongside and parallelto the conveyor belt such that any cartridge seated between twoconsecutive cleats remains trapped by the cleats and rails, but is freeto move within the confines of the conveyor belt, cleats and supportingrails. In this manner cartridges can be indexed, without maintaining anyaccurate alignment, yet will not tip beyond a critical angle

At each processing station, an alignment fixture is positioned andselectively activated to accurately align the cartridge body along itslongitudinal axis with the filling nozzle. The alignment fixture is aV-block mounted to an aligning pneumatic cylinder, such that whenenergized the cartridge is seated into the V-block and pressed againstthe conveyor belt surface thus immobilizing the cartridge, and aligningthe cartridge longitudinal axis parallel relative to the axis ofdelivered material, but not necessarily coincident. Given twodiametrically different cartridges (e.g. a pint cartridge and a quartcartridge), their longitudinal axes will be offset from one another byone-half the difference of their respective outer diameters, asmathematically expressed in EQUATION 1.

offset=½(OD ₂ −OD ₁) [e.g. offset=½(OD _(quart) −OD _(pint))]  [EQUATION1]

In order to complete alignment of the cartridges with the processingstations and to simultaneously make parallel and coincident thecartridge longitudinal axis with the axis of delivered material, eitherthe cartridge must be shifted forwards or backwards by the offsetamount, or alternatively, the station itself must be shifted forwards orbackwards by the offset amount. Given the complexity in offsetting allprocessing stations, it becomes preferable to maintain the processingstations stationary and to instead shift the cartridges normal to theconveyor belt surface to complete cartridge alignment relative to thestation.

To this end, the cleated indexing conveyor is mounted by mounting legsto hardware incorporating linear bearings enabling the cleated indexingconveyor to be positioned in a multiplicity of locations normal to theconveyor belt surface. A shuttling pneumatic cylinder locked to thehardware allows for the cleated indexing conveyor to be desirablyshifted backwards or forwards. As such the cleated indexing conveyor canbe appropriately positioned for diametrically different cartridges suchthat the respective cartridge longitudinal axis remains coincident tothe filling material centerline axis.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 depicts a top plan view of a cartridge filling system andassociated cleated indexing conveyor with a discrete number of shuttlemechanisms constructed in accordance with the invention.;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation view of a shuttle mechanism and alignmentfixture constructed in accordance with the invention in a pre-activationposition;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation view of an alignment fixture in an activatedposition constructed in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 4 is a side-by-side comparison of side elevation views of analignment fixture and shuttle mechanism with a cartridge of a firstdiameter prior to alignment and an alignment fixture accommodating alarger diameter cartridge in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 5 is a side by side comparison of side elevation views of analignment fixture and shuttling mechanism with a cartridge of a firstdiameter in alignment with a larger diameter cartridge in accordancewith the invention; and

FIG. 6 is a comparison of a top plan view of a cleated indexing conveyorwith an exemplary representation of the V-block mechanism used foraligning the cartridge longitudinally of two different diameters inaccordance withy the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates a cartridge fillingsystem generally indicated as 103 for filling cartridges of variousdiameters and lengths in accordance with the present invention. It iscontemplated that filler system 103 may be used to fill any cartridge104 or other article of manufacture. Filling system 103 includes anindexing conveyor 105 portion for conveying and delivering cartridges toindividual processing stations 106, such as a filling station (notshown), desiccant dispensing station; plunger insertion station, seamerstation or lot number applicator station, etc.

The cleated indexing conveyor 105 may be any standard container moverknown to those skilled in the art that is mounted on its side andincorporates cleats 107 at spaced intervals to enable the movement ofvertically positioned cartridges 104 along the length of cartridgefilling system 103. Cleats 107 may take the form of paddles as shown, ormay be extended rods or other structure which defines a space andprevents cartridge 104 from extending beyond a tipping angle.

The cleated indexing conveyor 105 is powered by an appropriate motor 108operatively connected thereto, such as an AC/DC motor (geared orotherwise), stepper motor, servomotor, air motor or any mechanism thattranslates linear motion into rotary motion. Supporting the cleatedindexing conveyor 105 along its length, are one or more shuttlemechanisms 110 which enable the shifting of said cleated indexingconveyor 105 between positions closer or farther away from an axis of afilling nozzle for dispensing material (not shown) of filling system103.

Reference is now made to FIG. 2 showing shuttle mechanisms 110 ingreater detail. Shuttle mechanism 110 incorporates a hollow cross member201 with a forward linear bearing 202 affixed to one end, and a rearlinear bearing 203 affixed to the other end. Extending perpendicularlyto the hollow cross member 201 are both a conveyor mounting member 204and a conveyor support member 205. A pair of conveyor mounting legs 206are affixed to and extend away from mounting member 204 in a directionrelatively parallel to hollow cross member 201. Cleated indexingconveyor 105 is mounted to conveyor mounting legs 206. The conveyorsupport member 205 supports the weight of cleated indexing conveyor 105.

A shaft 207 is positioned through linear bearings 202 and 203 and thehollow cross member 201. A shaft collar 208 is positioned at one end ofshaft 207 and a rear shaft collar 209 (pictured in FIG. 6) positioned onan opposed end of shaft 207. Shaft 207 is further locked in position bya pair of shaft support blocks 210 at either end which in turn aremounted onto a rear assembly mount 211 and forward assembly mount 212respectively. Forward assembly mount 212 and rear assembly mount 211 aremounted to a framework 213 of cartridge filling system 103. In this way,shuttle mechanism 110 is securely affixed within filling system 103 toanchor shuttle mechanism 110 therein.

As described, shuttle mechanism 110 shifts cleated indexing conveyor 105between a forward position whereby the forward linear bearing 202 movestowards forward shaft collar 208 until contacting shaft collar 208 (sothat collar 208 acts as a stop), and a rear position whereby the rearlinear bearing 203 moves towards the rear shaft collar 209 untilcontacting shaft collar 209 (so that collar 209 acts as a stop). Ashuttling pneumatic cylinder 214 is mounted to the rear assembly mount211 and coupled to the hollow cross member 201, via a suitable couplingmount 215 as known in the art.

The activation and deactivation of pneumatic cylinder 214 effects theshifting of shuttle mechanism 110 between the rear and forward positionsas defined by the stops provided by forward shaft collar 208 and rearshaft collar 209. The controlled activation and deactivation ofpneumatic cylinder 214 moves the assembly of shuttle mechanism 110. Oneend of pneumatic cylinder 214 is fixed at assembly mount 211 while theothers are directly coupled to pneumatic cylinder 214 by coupling mount215. The remainder of the assembly is affixed to hollow tube 201 andslides along hollow cross member 201 as pneumatic cylinder 21 movescross member 201 along shaft 207.

It is well understood that the length of movement of shuttle mechanism110 is variable as stop 208 may placed anywhere along the shaft toaccommodate what amounts to an infinite variety of sized cartridges 104.As will become readily apparent below, with proper control of pneumaticcylinder 214, hollow cross member 201 can be moved any increment ofdistance along shaft 207 positioning shuttle mechanism 110 at any pointbetween the forward position and the rear position. Additionally,although the shifting of shuttle mechanism 110 is described as beingenabled by the shuttling pneumatic cylinder 214, it is possible toachieve the same result via any linear power transmissive mechanicalassembly.

A pair of low friction strips 230 are disposed on framework 213 andenable the smooth movement of cartridge 104 along the length of thecartridge filling system 103. Additionally, a pair of supporting rails240 is positioned along the length of the cleated indexing conveyor 105in facing relationship therewith. Accordingly, representative cartridge104 is maintained within a region defined by the successive cleats 107of cleated indexing conveyor 105 and the pair of supporting rails 240.The space is greater than the volume of the largest expected cartridge104, but sufficiently small to support cartridge 104 therein in anorientation approximating an orientation for filling, i.e. Cartridge 104is not maintained in complete and accurate alignment however it isprevented from tipping over and possibly spilling its contents.

An alignment fixture 220 is mounted to frame 213 in facing relationshipwith cleated indexing conveyor 105. Alignment fixture 220 includes apneumatic cylinder 221. A V-shaped block 222 is affixed to the cylinderso that the arms of the V are in facing relationship with cleatedindexing conveyor 105 and moves between a first position away fromcleated indexing conveyor 105 to a second position toward cleatedindexing conveyor 105 under the control of pneumatic cylinder 221.

Referring now also to FIG. 3, the V-block 222 of the alignment fixture220 is activated via the aligning pneumatic cylinder 221 to press thecartridge 104 disposed between cleats 104 of cleated conveyor 105against the cleated indexing conveyor 105. The preferred embodiment ofpusher block 222 is V-shaped, although any angled or curved surfacehaving two opposed substantially symmetrical arms would suffice. As aV-shaped block moves towards cartridge 104, either arm of V-shaped block222 engages cartridge 104 towards the back closed recess of the V sothat cartridge 104, no matter what diameter or shape, eventually engagesboth arms of the V-shaped block 222 and becomes oriented to be in agenerally upright direction (generally parallel to conveyor 105,generally orthogonal to strips 230 and parallel to a plane formed byguide rails 240). As seen in FIG. 3, when fully extended, V-shaped block222 pins cartridge 104 against conveyor 107 to maintain cartridge 104 inthe desired position. As such, the cartridge 104 is positioned incomplete alignment relative to all interfacing tooling and processingequipment. Given the geometry of the V-block 222, stroke length of thealigning pneumatic cylinder 221 and the region defined by the cleatedindexing conveyor 105, cleats 107, and supporting rails 240, cartridgesof variant geometries (shapes and sizes) can be accommodated such thatthe entire range of sizes can be positioned with complete verticalalignment.

Reference is now made to FIG. 4 in which a first shuttle mechanism 110,prior to positioning a cartridge 104 a is compared to a second shuttlemechanism 110 b positioning a second cartridge 104 b of greater outerdiameter prior to alignment for explanation of operation of theinvention. Like numerals are utilized to describe like parts, theprimary difference between cartridge 104 a and 104 b being the outerdiameter of the cartridge; there really being no difference betweenshuttle mechanism 110 a and 110 b in FIG. 4.

Although not shown, in conventional cartridge filling machines, thefilling nozzle from which the material flows into the cartridge is atfixed position relative to cleated indexing conveyor 105 and/oralignment fixture 220. In order for most efficient filling of thecartridge, it is preferred in the art that a center axis of emptycartridge 104 be substantially coaxial with the central axis of flow ofthe material to be filled.

However, the relative position of shuttling mechanism 110 a relative tofilling system 103 is the same as the relative position of shuttlingmechanism 110 b. Because the outer diameters of 104 a and 104 b aredifferent, prior to alignment, as they are presented to filling system103, a central axis 401 of cartridge 104 a is offset from a central axis405 of cartridge 104 b by an offset gap 402. If not corrected for, thenthe filling nozzle of the filling system 103 would be offset relative toone of cartridges 104 a, 104 b by gap 402, which is undesired.

Reference is now made to FIG. 5 in which a first mechanism 110 a isagain compared to a second mechanism 110 b showing a shifting mechanism110 to align axis 405 with axis 401 to remove the offset. Again, likenumerals are utilized for like structures for ease of description. Priorto orientation by alignment fixture 220, axis 401 is aligned with axis405 by shifting mechanism 110 shifting the conveyor belt to align acentral axis of the cartridge with the filling station.

Rather than move the larger diameter cartridge 104 b, it is preferred tomove the smaller diameter cartridge 104 a into the appropriate position.During operation, cylinder 214 is activated moving hollow cross member201 along shaft 207 towards the forward shaft collar 208 until stoppedby shaft collar 208, in this example.

At this point, given the relative diameters, central axis 401 is nowaligned with central axis 405 while, as expected, a trailing edge ofconveyor support member 204 for shifting mechanism 110 a is offset by agap 502 relative to the trailing edge of support member 204 of shiftingmechanism 110 b. It follows that to align central axes gap 502substantially corresponds to gap 402.

It should be noted that in this embodiment, shifting mechanism 110shifts conveyor belt 105 from a first position corresponding to thatshown in FIG. 4 in which hollow cross member 201 is stopped by rearshaft collar 209 to a second position in which hollow tube is stoppedand abuts against a forward shaft collar 208. However, by appropriatecontrolling of the pneumatic pressure, pneumatic cylinder 214 can becontrolled to move mounting member 204 to any intervening position inaccordance with Equation 1 from above to accommodate any diameterdifferential.

It should be noted, that movement of shifting mechanism 110 may betriggered in several ways. As a rule, although cartridges 104 come in avariety of sizes, they are processed in batches of the same size becausepackaging and shipment to stores is done as an order of a single size.Therefore, a switch on the filling system 103 can be set to the desiredsize to control hydraulic pneumatic cylinder 214 to adjust the placingof cartridge 104 to a position corresponding to the appropriatediameter. Cartridges are manufactured with their product number thereon;usually a machine-readable code such as barcode. The reading of thebarcode which indicates the cartridge size can also trigger the controlthe movement of pneumatic cylinder 214. It should be noted, that the useof optical sensors or product readers in reality would allow adjustmentof conveyor 105 on the fly in real time to accommodate the processing ofmixed batches.

Accordingly, the shift depicted in FIG. 5 completes the spatialalignment of the entire range of cartridges 104, the shuttle mechanism110 is appropriately shifted to reposition the cleated indexing conveyor105 by amount 502 effectively relocating the cartridge axial center 401to a position coincident with the axial center of all interfacingtooling and processing equipment.

Reference is now made to FIG. 6 which shows the shifting and aligningprocess from a top view to better exemplify the movement of conveyorbelt 105 and push block 222. Again, like numerals are utilized toindicate like structure. As seen, in this view, a shifting mechanism 110a and all of the associated elements are shown side by side with ashifting mechanism 110 b rather than one on top of the other as in FIG.5. Again, cartridge 104 a has a smaller outer diameter than cartridge104 b. Therefore, a conveyor belt 105 a is shifted to relative to aconveyor belt 105 b.

As can be seen, pneumatic cylinder 214 is activated so as to slidehollow shaft 201 along shaft 207 to be moved in a direction away fromrear shaft collar 209. This shifts conveyor belt 105 a in the directionof arrow A by a distance 602 corresponding to distance 402 and gaps 402and 502 so that central axis 401 and 405, the respective cartridges 104a, 104 b are the same distance from V-shaped block 222. As seen in FIG.6, as compared to FIGS. 4, 5, pneumatic cylinder 221 has been added forfiring V-shaped block 222 into contact with respective cylinders 104 a,104 b to position the respective cylinders 104 a, 104 b in the properupright orientation within the space created by cleats 107, conveyorbelt 105, rail 240.

During operation, the geometry of the next batch of cartridges 104 to befilled is input to the machine in which filling system 103 resides.Conveyor belt 105 is shifted by shifting mechanism 110 to accommodatethe shape of the cartridge. Cartridges are dropped onto conveyor 105between successive cleats 107 and are substantially in an uprightposition, i.e., a central axis of cartridge 104 is relatively coaxialwith the axis of the flow of material from a filling spout at a fillingstation. As cartridge 104 approaches the filling station, it reaches aposition in which it is in facing relationship with alignment fixture220 which performs finishing alignment by moving in a V-shaped block 222in a direction to engage cartridge 104. Because the symmetrical natureof the arms of the V-shaped block 222 provide a camming service, nomatter what the geometry (shape, diameter, or length) of cartridge 104,it will slide along block 222 until it abuts against both arms of theV-shaped block 222 and is held in a true upright position. Because ofthe adjustment of conveyor belt 105, the cleats 107 can be permanentlyaffixed to conveyor 105 and maintained at a spaced relationshipsufficient to prevent a cartridge of a desired range of outer diametersfrom being able to fall on its side (i.e., away from a substantiallyupright orientation). As a result, the belt need not be retooled betweeneach change of cartridge geometry being processed.

Cartridges 104 a and 104 b are positioned against their respectivecleated indexing conveyor 105 a and 105 b by the respective alignmentfixtures. As depicted, the shuttle mechanism 110 is required to beshifted by amount 602 in an effort to align the axial centers 401 and405 of cartridges 104 a and 104 b respectively.

While the present invention has been described with reference toexemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is notlimited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of thefollowing claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as toencompass all modifications, equivalent structures and functions of therelevant exemplary embodiments. Thus, the description of the inventionis merely exemplary in nature and, thus, variations that do not departfrom the spirit and scope of the invention are intended to be within thescope of the exemplary embodiments of the present invention. Suchvariations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit andscope of the present invention.

1. A filling system for filling cartridges having any one of a varietyof outer diameters comprising: a conveyor, the conveyor includes cleatsextending therefrom at spaced intervals; and a shifting mechanismcoupled to said conveyor for shifting said conveyor between a firstposition and a second position, the distance between the first positionand second position being a function of the outer diameter of acartridge to be filled.
 2. The filling system of claim 1, wherein saidfilling system includes a frame, a shaft affixed to said frame, a hollowshaft slidably mounted about said frame, a linear power transmissiveassembly coupled to said hollow member, said conveyor being affixed tosaid hollow member, wherein activation of said linear power transmissiveassembly moves said cylinder between a first position and a secondposition.
 3. The filling system of claim 2, further comprising a rearshaft collar mounted on said shaft for defining said first position, anda forward shaft collar mounted on said shaft at a distance spaced fromsaid rear shaft collar and defining said second position.
 4. The fillingsystem of claim 1, wherein said distance corresponds to one-half thedifference of the outer diameter of a first cartridge minus the outerdiameter of a second cartridge, the first cartridge having a greaterouter diameter than the second cartridge.
 5. The filling system of claim1, further comprising an alignment mechanism in facing relationship withthe conveyor.
 6. The filling system of claim 5, wherein the alignmentmechanism includes a pushing block for engaging said cartridge, saidcartridge disposed between respective cleats and said pushing blockaligning a central axis of the cartridge in an orientation for filling.7. The filling system of claim 6, wherein said pushing block has opposedsubstantially symmetrical arms and moves moves between a first positionaway from said conveyor and a second position towards said conveyor andaligning a cartridge when in the second position.
 8. A method forfilling cartridges having any one of a variety of outer diameterscomprising: providing a conveyor, the conveyor having cleats extendingtherefrom at spaced intervals to define a space; determining the size ofthe cartridge to be filled; and shifting the conveyor between a firstposition and a second position as a function of the outer diameter ofthe cartridge.
 9. The method of claim 8 comprising the step of aligningthe cartridge in the space to be substantially coaxial with an axis offlow of material into the cartridge during a filling process.
 10. Themethod of claim 9 further comprising the step of aligning said cartridgeby pushing said cartridge toward said conveyor with a pushing block, thepushing block having opposed substantially symmetrical arms.